Wildfire and Steel

by J. J. Green

  “You know what I mean,” said Carina. “You’ve helped us to stay safe and survive.”

  “Oh, thanks.” Parthenia’s tone was hard and her eyes had turned stony. She picked up a stick to push under the flat flour cake in the frying pan to flip it.

  “Parthenia, what’s wrong?”

  Her sister glanced over her shoulder at Bryce, Nahla, and Darius, playing cards on the rug, and Oriana and Ferne, who were dozing on the sofa. She said softly, “When are we going to do something about Castiel? We have to find him. We have to stop him.”

  Carina sat back on her haunches. “So that’s what’s been bothering you? You know we can’t Locate Castiel. Unless we have something personal of his, we can’t do it. He could be anywhere on Ostillon, or he might even have left the planet now.”

  “But he’s probably still at Langley’s estate. We could look there. Carina, you’ve seen what he’s doing. We can’t let him continue.”

  Carina was only too aware of what Castiel had been doing. Though they hadn’t caught sight of their brother, twice they had seen evidence of his activities. Sherrerr forces had managed to break through the Dirksen defenses and land at the spaceport, but the troops running from the landing craft had burst into flames. They had also seen airborne Sherrerr shuttles Split into two pieces and their occupants plummet to their deaths. Unable to find Castiel, Carina and her siblings hadn’t been able to Repulse his Casts. They had been forced to watch the scenes helplessly, in dismay.

  Castiel had been active in defending Ostillon from the Sherrerr attack, and Carina guessed that he’d only begun to explore the range of devastation he could inflict on the Dirksens’ enemies.

  “I know,” Carina answered her sister. “I know we should do something. I just don’t know how to stop him. We can’t go to Langley’s estate, assuming he’s still living there. We would be captured the minute we came anywhere near the place. It’s too risky. And I don’t have any other ideas.”

  In truth, Carina knew she had not put serious effort into catching Castiel. She doubted she could manage it alone, yet she feared for the lives and freedom of her siblings if they helped her. The war between the Sherrerrs and the Dirksens wasn’t her fault or her problem. Why should she risk her family by trying to put an end to Castiel’s attacks?

  Another worry niggled at her: what would she do with Castiel if she succeeded in capturing him? Could she kill her half-brother in cold blood, cruel and evil as he was? She’d killed enough people to last her a lifetime. And if she couldn’t kill Castiel, what then? How could she keep him confined for the rest of his life?

  “Oh no,” Parthenia exclaimed. Smoke was oozing from the cooking flour cake. Parthenia tried to push the cake out of the pan with the stick, but it was stuck.

  “Dammit,” Carina said. She grabbed the pan but the handle was hot. Wincing, she pulled down her sleeve and tried again. This time she removed the frying pan from the grid and put it down on the floor.

  “Is the food ready yet?” Darius called out.

  Parthenia leaned forward to poke the burnt cake with her stick, trying to remove it from the pan. But as she did so the bowl of dough on her lap fell off and landed upside down. She gave a groan and lifted the bowl. The dough was dirty and ruined.

  “It’s okay,” said Carina. “We can make some more.”

  Parthenia rose to her feet to scoop more flour out of the sack.

  Suddenly, an explosion roared above. The basement shuddered. Parthenia was thrown to the floor.

  Nahla and Darius were screaming, but Carina couldn’t hear a thing. Bryce stared upward, his mouth hanging open. Carina followed his gaze. A crack was splitting the ceiling apart. Grainy dust rained down into her eyes.

  “Get under the sofa,” Carina yelled at the kids. Her voice sounded distant and faint.

  Parthenia was trying to stand. Carina launched herself at her sister, forcing her down. She covered Parthenia with her body. Bryce dove over Darius and Nahla.

  Something heavy and solid crashed into the back of Carina’s head. She knew no more.

  Chapter Three

  Carina could smell grass. It seemed so long since she had smelled that green scent. She inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma. Warm air was bathing her. She heard insects chirping.

  She opened her eyes. She was on her back, and above her a pale blue sky stretched wide. Tall stalks of wild grass surrounded her, motionless in the still air. A scratching sound was coming from her right-hand side. Carina turned her head. Only a few centimeters from her nose, a long-legged insect crouched on a grass blade and rubbed its serrated limbs together.

  Someone grabbed her shirt and tugged at her, turning her over. Agony flared up from her thigh. Carina yelled out in pain. She was back in the basement. Dust was choking her, her ears rang, and above her the sky was aflame.

  Bryce’s face appeared in her view. “Carina, are you okay?” She could barely hear him but she could read his lips. How long had she been out? It felt like only a few moments. He was lifting chunks of rubble away from her.

  “I’m okay,” she replied. She tried to move, but excruciating pain lanced from her leg again. “I think my leg’s broken.”

  Carina felt movement below her. She remembered she was lying on Parthenia. Her sister was trying to get up.

  “Find the elixir, Bryce,” said Carina. “Bring it to me.” He disappeared from her view. Carina tried to move off her sister but the slightest motion sent nauseating waves of pain. “Darius! Nahla!” Carina gasped, fighting nausea from the pain. “Where are you?” She couldn’t see anything except the remains of the basement ceiling. Jagged edges lined the break. Through the gap she saw red and orange clouds, reflecting fire. A smoky haze blew across the sky.

  Parthenia twisted and Carina cried out as her leg jerked. The broken ends of her bones ground against each other. “Please, stay still,” she said to her sister. Perhaps Parthenia answered but Carina didn’t hear.

  Bryce was back and Carina felt faint with relief. He was holding the familiar canister. He unscrewed the lid and put a hand behind her head, lifting her to take a sip. Carina swallowed the elixir and shut her eyes. The pain made it hard to concentrate. She had to focus.

  Carina imagined herself pushing the pain from her leg down into a box, closing the lid, and locking it. A sense of calm arrived. Carina wrote Heal and Cast the character out, willing it downward to her broken bone.

  She exhaled, long and slow. Gingerly, she reached her mind out to her leg. The pain was gone.

  Carina found her hearing was also returning. She could hear a hum growing louder, filling her ears. It wasn’t a hum. It was a roar. The roar of flames. Had the Sherrerrs bombed the city with incendiary devices? Or had the clan attempted another landing, and Castiel had Cast Fire on the city?

  Parthenia moved beneath her again. Carina shifted off her sister and took the elixir canister from Bryce. Parthenia crawled out from rubble and plaster dust.

  “Are you all right?” Carina asked her.

  Parthenia nodded.

  The remains of the basement lay around them. The sack of flour had been exploded by a block of masonry. The sofa was in pieces. The window had shattered into thousands of pieces.

  “Where are the others?” Carina asked Bryce.

  “They’re okay. They’re outside already. I took them upstairs and came back for you. We have to get out of this area. Now.”

  “But we need to bring the elixir,” said Parthenia.

  “It’s all gone,” Bryce replied. “The container was crushed. We only have what’s left in the canister.”

  “It’s okay,” said Carina. “We can make more.”

  They stepped over the rubble-strewn floor to the staircase and climbed stairs choked with debris from the destroyed house. At the top of the stairs the rest of the children were grouped in a huddle anxiously waiting. Their clothes and exposed skin were blackened with smoke.

  “Where to now?” Bryce asked when they reached the top.

  Cari
na didn’t know. Burning buildings surrounded them. As her gaze lit upon one it collapsed, sending sparks shooting into the sky and red-hot bricks scattering across the street. Carina scanned three hundred and sixty degrees. Every avenue seemed to be blocked. A man flew from a doorway, screaming, on fire. Carina grabbed the two younger children’s heads and buried their faces in her stomach. The man hurtled down the road as if trying to escape the flames that were consuming him.

  “We have to Transport,” she said. “If we try to walk out of here…” She didn’t need to say more.

  “But where can we go?” Oriana wailed. “We don’t know anywhere that’s safe anymore.”

  “Nowhere is safe for certain,” said Parthenia. “But we can get away from the city. We can go somewhere unpopulated that won’t be of interest to the Sherrerrs.” She held Darius’ shoulders and turned him around. “Do you remember the forest we were in when we first came to Ostillon? Do you think you can Transport us all there?”

  The little boy’s face was pale and his eyes were wide with fear, but he nodded.

  “Are you sure it’s safe, Parthenia?” Carina asked. “How far away is this place?”

  “I don’t know exactly. It’s on this continent. I think Darius can do it.”

  “Not all of us at once, though” said Carina. “It’s too risky. Two at a time, in case something goes wrong. And let’s swap personal things so we can find each other again if we’re separated.”

  They hastily emptied pockets and found small items to share around. Darius had a pair of dice that he split between Parthenia and Oriana. Nahla gave Carina a hair ribbon. Bryce had nothing except a ring. He pulled it from his finger and pushed it into Carina’s open hand, folding her fingers over it. In ten or fifteen seconds they were done.

  The buildings around were going up like torches. The air was growing unbearably hot and Carina was struggling to breathe. She handed Darius the canister.

  “Who goes first?” he asked.

  “Bryce, Ferne, and Nahla together.”

  “No,” said Oriana. “I want to stay with Ferne.”

  “I want Bryce to be with Nahla,” said Carina.

  “I can do it,” Darius said. “Nahla is only little, like me.”

  Oriana pouted, but she hugged her twin goodbye.

  “Transport those three first,” Carina told Darius, “then Oriana and Parthenia, and then you and me.”

  Carina had a lot of faith in her little brother’s mage power, but fear he would fail clutched at her. He was young and he was frightened, which would make it more difficult for him to Cast.

  “Do I Transport everyone to outside the ranger’s tower?” he asked Parthenia.

  “No, that’s too dangerous,” she answered. “He might still be there. He could see us appear from nowhere. Aim for somewhere half a kilometer away, out in the wild country beyond the tower. But not in the forest.”

  “Okay.” Darius sipped elixir and closed his eyes. In another couple of seconds, Bryce, Ferne, and Nahla were gone.

  “Hurry up and Transport me,” Oriana said. “I don’t want to lose Ferne.”

  A crack split the air, and with a rumbling crash a wall collapsed a few meters behind them. Burning masonry tumbled toward them.

  “Watch out,” Carina cried. Grabbing Darius’ arm she dragged him away. Parthenia and Oriana crowded close. The roaring of the flames was growing louder.

  “Please hurry, Darius,” Oriana begged.

  He lifted the canister again and took another sip. How much elixir was left? Carina didn’t know. She hoped none of the liquid had slopped out when she’d pulled Darius away from the collapsing wall.

  Parthenia and Oriana disappeared.

  “Is there enough left for both of us?” Carina asked.

  Darius shook the canister. “I think so.”

  “Okay. When you’re ready.”

  Her little brother tipped up the canister and swallowed the remains of the elixir. He closed his eyes. Concentration creased his brow.

  “Just don’t put me in mud,” said Carina.

  A small smile lit Darius’ face, and Carina gripped his hand.

  They Transported.

  Chapter Four

  Castiel watched the shuttle’s display in silence. The Dirksen pilot was flying closer to the Sherrerr flagship, Nightfall. True to her name, the massive vessel was dark against the stars, carrying no external lighting.

  The ship had hung in the Floria planetary system for days, like a brooding overlord, while the Sherrerrs launched their deadly attacks on Ostillon’s military installations, manufacturing and transportation hubs, and major cities. For days, no Dirksen military spacecraft had broken through the ship’s defenses. Many had been destroyed in the attempt.

  As Castiel watched, more Dirksen military vessels were harrying Nightfall in an effort to distract its crew from the small, unarmed shuttle.

  Dirksen reinforcements were on their way to the Floria system, but if nothing turned the tide in the battle for Ostillon by the time they arrived the planet would be smoking ash and rubble.

  Castiel recalled a Sherrerr attack on another Dirksen planet, Cestrath, a military stronghold. His half-sister, Carina, had destroyed an ocean side military base there. In that attack the Sherrerrs had wanted to preserve as much of the planet’s infrastructure as they could, and they’d succeeded. The capture of Cestrarth had yielded valuable equipment and intel, and the planet was now a Sherrerr stronghold.

  His father’s clan clearly had no intention of treating Ostillon in the same manner. Their attack had been relentless and devastating. Did the Sherrerrs know that the world harbored the mages who had escaped them? The moment that Carina had taken the mages from Nightfall the Sherrerrs had lost key, highly effective resources. If the clan thought retrieval of them would be impossible, it made sense to attempt to destroy the mages instead.

  Mages made excellent weapons, as the Sherrerrs aboard Nightfall were about to discover.

  “Are you within range to do your thing yet?” Reyes Dirksen asked. “I don’t think we can get much closer without attracting their attention.”

  “Don’t speak to me,” said Castiel. “I have to concentrate.” Ignoring Langley Dirksen’s son sitting next to him, he filled a beaker with elixir. He’d been watching the battle, noting the position of Nightfall’s weapons when they fired. He regretted he hadn’t asked his father for a tour of the ship during the weeks he’d lived aboard it. If he’d known where the fuel tanks were situated he could have Cast Fire into them, the same as his brothers and sisters had when they destroyed the Dirksen shipyard.

  Langley Dirksen had warned him that capturing the ship was preferable to destroying it. Such a vessel would be a valuable asset for the Dirksens. Nonetheless, Castiel itched to make a spectacular end to Nightfall. That would make the clan take notice of him. His standing among them would rise to heady heights. As it was, his contribution to Ostillon’s defense had been all but ignored, it seemed. He knew he could do so much more and rise so much higher, if only they would let him.

  Another of his problems lay in the fact that more than half of his long-distance Casts failed. He hadn’t had the same practice as his siblings, and though he’d watched many of the lessons their mother had taught, the information she’d passed on had been patchy and unreliable. Carina had demonstrated what a properly trained mage could do.

  “I really think you should do something now,” urged Reyes.

  “And I said, be quiet!” Castiel snapped. He hated Langley’s son. Langley had insisted that Reyes must be his constant companion, as if he were a child who needed a chaperone. Yet Reyes was only three years older than himself. Langley was attempting to control and keep tabs on him, but she was overstepping the mark.

  Langley Dirksen was one of several problems Castiel intended to solve when he had the opportunity, when he had helped to rid Ostillon of the Sherrerrs’ presence and showed the Dirksens that a new force had appeared in their midst.

  Castiel lifted th
e beaker to his lips and swallowed its contents in several large gulps. He’d practised the Cast he intended to make many times with success, but he’d never attempted it on such a scale before. He could not use Split again. Though his strength and skill grew stronger every day, he could not tear such an immense vessel as Nightfall in two. Also, despite his annoyance, he had heeded Langley’s exhortation to avoid damaging the ship if he could.

  What he intended would not be spectacular, but it would be effective. The remaining Dirksen fleet would be able to move in and complete Nightfall’s defeat.

  Castiel closed his eyes, centered his consciousness, and dove deep into his mind, just as his mother had taught his siblings. In his mind’s eye, he wrote the character, Break. Next, he copied it several times. Finally, he propelled the characters at the Sherrerr flagship, aiming them according to his memory of Nightfall’s weapons. Break was a simple Cast that required little strength but sending the characters across the void exhausted him.

  “Have you done it yet?” Reyes voice intruded.

  “Dammit,” Castiel yelled, leaping to his feet. His flailing arm knocked over the jug of elixir and it clattered on the floor, the liquid spilling out in a flood. He leaned his face into Reyes’ and said softly, “If you speak to me again while I’m Casting, I’ll rip you apart.”

  Reyes’ eyes became hooded and his expression sullen. If Castiel’s warning scared him, he didn’t show it. Castiel threw himself into his seat and rubbed his temple. He muttered, “It’s done.”

  The shuttle pilot had diplomatically ignored the altercation. He said, “The Sherrerr ship has stopped firing.”

  Castiel returned his attention to the display. What the pilot had said wasn’t strictly true. One of Nightfall’s pulse weapons continued to operate, but his Cast had taken out most of its offensive capabilities. Relief and delight mingled in his chest. His Casting ability was improving. He doubted Carina could have done any better.